My crash course in life.

Menu

Bedtime trick for restless tykes who can’t sleep

Bedtime is always a struggle with Moses. I’m not talking about the usual tossing and turning here. In his three-year old mind, the bed is a wrestling ring with his sleeping brother and mom as hapless, helpless opponents. If you leave him alone, he’ll run amok around the bedroom, knocking down stuff and shrieking gleefully all the while. He’s like one of our beagles, I used to say to his mommy. Thank God he hasn’t eaten any of our pillows.My old and new lullabyes, bedtime stories, none of them work any more.

Then, one night, I thought of a way to get him to be still, inspired by how I used to listen to his older brother Noah’s heartbeat before we had heart surgery done for his murmur.

Me: Hey, Moses, come here! Lie down for a minute so I can listen to your heart!
Moses: Ok!
Me: Your heart is beating so fast! It’s saying boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! (It’s working I thought! He was still for almost a minute!)
Moses, looking amazed: I want to listen to your heart, daddy!

Me: All right, but you gotta be real quiet, close your eyes and lie still!

(Places his head on my chest)
After a few seconds, Me: What does daddy’s heart say?